Mikel Arteta saw his side shattered by an in-form Liverpool side when we visited Anfield for what was our third Premier League game of the new season on Monday night.
Having defeated the reigning champions in our last two meetings, one being our Community Shield victory over them in August, we looked forward to something tight but unfortunately, it was the reverse as we suffered a 3-1 defeat to record our first loss of the campaign in all competitions.
A weak lineup was not an excuse this time around. Kieran Tierney started after a brief groin injury, Hector Bellerin, Granit Xhaka, Willian, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who all either did not start or feature at all in our Carabao Cup opener with Leicester were named from the beginning.
Our start was not as bad as the greater part of the game would eventually be. We made things a bit difficult for the hosts then put them under pressure with the first goal of the night.
Lacazette on the counter delivered a lovely pass to Ainsley Maitland-Niles but the latter's return cross was poor. However, Robertson ina bid to clear out of danger zone sent the ball towards Lacazette and the Frenchman hit one that bounced over Allison.
This early breakthrough did not count for too long. In just about two minutes after our hit, Mo Salah attempted a shot that was parried out by Bernd Leno. Unluckily for us, Sadio Mane was readily available to tuck it in from close range.
Fans will be so furious at this point, first because of the manner in which we lost the lead and also because the scorer of the equaliser should have seen red after hostile challenges on Bellerin and Tierney so early in the match.
Alexander-Arnold played a cross for Robertson to chest and send past Leno before the break. We were trailing at halftime and hoped for a better display in the following period.
Arsenal stepped up from restart with Holding making blocks that mattered. Not long from then, Lacazette missed a glorious chance that was quickly picked up by Allison. Did he think it was an offside and thereby slowed down on the chase? Dani Ceballos would sure be disappointed to see his pas wasted.
Liverpool had their own chances too. One of the ones they missed was by debutant Jota. He came in as a substitute, missed but went on to score two minutes to the end of the encounter. It all ended 3-1 and we left with nothing.
We will isit Anfield again on Thursday but this time in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, making it our third meeting with them so far this season. They got us eliminated at this same stage last season after winning on penalties following a 5-5 draw.
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